FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN FARMERS, INTERNATIONAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information, Contact:
Dennis Schlagel, FCFI Executive Director
309-365-8710, fcfi4him@aol.com, www.fcfi.org

Melvin Bell, FCFI Rapid Response Coordinator
217-249-2549, mmbell@tswireless.net

John Adams, FCFI Rapid Response Coordinator
502-241-4122, Crestwood, Kentucky

FCFI Mobile Office, Abbeville, Louisiana -- 337-937-5225

  " Building Fences in the Bayou.........'til the Cows Come Home"

   Lexington, Illinois (May 11, 2006) The Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International is announcing, today, its "Building Fences in the Bayou....'til the Cows Come Home" campaign will continue through the summer and fall to help Louisiana cattlemen and rice farmers hit by Hurricane Rita last September, re-build fences, repair livestock buildings, and re-build farm homes. Hurricane Rita hit farmers in Vermillion and Cameron Parishes particularly hard. Farmers from Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida have traveled to Abbeville, Louisiana where FCFI has established a mobile office and lodging for 30 people each week to re-build fences destroyed by Hurricane Rita's storm surge. Bayou cattle were shipped north of I-10 prior to Rita's landfall September 18th. These cattle are starting to come home despite pastures remaining high ppm of salt residue left on pastures. Three feet of storm surge "salt" water stood in bayou pastures for three weeks, 15 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. With re-built fences, cattle can begin returning home if hay is available for dry lotting. Louisiana State University Livestock Specialists are monitoring salt levels in pastures.  Flushing rains began falling in late April. Cattle are grazing the levees in the bayou in May. Southern Louisiana is behind 30 inches of rain since the Hurricanes last September. This lack of rainfall is slowing the dilution of salt water in canals used by rice farmers to flood their fields prior to planting.
   The Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International is coordinating work teams to help re-build farm familes homes. Fence building in the summer months is a very hot enterprise in the Bayou. Many farms are re-building their homes to 12 foot elevation hurricane codes. This requires existing houses to be jacked up so fill can be placed to make a new pad for the house to sit on.  Any future work team is encouraged to bring a cargo trailer of appliances, furniture, kitchen table & chairs, and any other items to be used in a “Chivaree” . These “Chivarees” is an attempt to bring back an old tradition of bringing gifts to families settling into a new home. Collecting a cargo trailer of Chivaree items would be a great church project for a team of workers to haul to southwest Louisiana.  Contact the FCFI Home Office for details.
   It is a tremendous "boost" of encouragement to Vermillion and Cameron Parish cattlemen to have farmers from across America show up and build two miles of fence in a day or replace sheetrock in a main floor of a home. All interested farmers and farm families can register to participate in the "Building Fences in the Bayou....'til the Cows Come Home" on the www.fcfi.org website. The website's photo essay also chronicles FCFI's involvement in southern Louisiana. Cost for the project is $25.00 per person for as long as you can stay and build. RV sites are available. Lodging and kitchen facilities are included. Please bring your favorite fencing pliers and wrecking bars

The Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International is a 501(3)(C) non-profit organization headquartered in Lexington, Illinois.

The Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International will be exhibiting at the 3 I Farm Show in Great Bend , Kansas May 11-13^{th Lot 014 near the Agri-Business I building.  "Building Fences in the Bayou....'til the Cows Come Home" information will be available at these farm shows.}

Visit FCFI's website, www.fcfi.org, for details regarding, "Building Fences in the Bayou...'til the Cows Come Home".  Join a Louisiana Hurricane Relief Team, today.

Fellowship of Christian Farmers, International
Dennis Schlagel, Executive Director
221 West Main; P.O. Box 15
Lexington, Illinois USA
phone 309-365-8710
fax   309-365-7023
e-mail  fcfi4him@aol.com
website www.fcfi.org

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